LAT: Borders, Priorities Blur Along the 'Wild Frontier' (New Mexico)

[DeepModem Mom]

Borders, Priorities Blur Along the 'Wild Frontier'
Illegal immigrants and drug traffickers stream to New Mexico to avoid patrols elsewhere.

By David Kelly, Times Staff Writer


COLUMBUS, N.M. — Frustrated by security crackdowns in Arizona, thousands of illegal immigrants and drug traffickers are flooding once-quiet New Mexico, making it the newest frontier in America's struggle to control its southern border.

Border Patrol agents who once caught handfuls of immigrants a day here now arrest 140 or 150 a night. Armed confrontations are increasing, high-speed chases have become routine and officials say they lack the resources to hold the line. At the same time, Mexican crime syndicates using two-way radios and sophisticated cellphones have American law enforcement under surveillance....

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Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said the clampdown in Arizona was making his state "the preferred alternative for drug trafficking and human smuggling." He has requested more agents, vehicle barricades and cameras along the border. The Department of Homeland Security is looking into shifting resources to New Mexico....

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For years, New Mexico's 180-mile border has been the least defended in the Southwest. Immigrants once preferred crossing into Texas and California, closer to major cities and transport centers. But crackdowns there funneled many into Arizona, now the busiest illegal crossing point in the nation, with 500,000 arrests last year. The state recently received $10 million in federal aid, unmanned surveillance aircraft and 200 new border and customs agents — bringing its total to 2,000 for about 370 miles of border....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-newmexico23jan23,0,6668925.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[phusion]

1. It's like squeezing jello. n/t

:)